Merged
by raschelmosh
Summary: Bella was in shock over the email. She had changed a major plot and had somehow endeared herself to Aro. Her eyes widened when she realised he knew about the wolves. This was not supposed to happen.
1. Chapter 1

The first thing she noticed was the overwhelming feelings that washed through her. Pain in her chest as if someone was digging a hole in her chest leaving it to bleed out. Confusion warred in her mind. Hadn't she died in the hospital of cancer not a hole in her chest? Did they operate on her or something? She was sure she had died, the out of body experiene she had after she stopped breathing, the pain that left her feeling disorientated after having had it so long and the immense relief that it was over. She looked up to see she was sitting in front of a window showing a view of snow of the ground.

She wondered for a moment where she was. She looked around and recognised the room as hers and yet she knew she had never been in it before. She tried to clear her mind and distract from the pain to make sense of the disjointed memories in her head. She finally remembered meeting the embodiment of the fates.

They told her she died before she was meant to and they needed to return her to the living to restore the balance. Apparently the balance was very delicate. Any death that happened before it should could tip it and cause the end of the world. They explained it worked similar to ripples in the water. They start off small getting bigger some becoming tidal waves. As it was her early death was impacting her counterpart in another world and she was dying as well, their bond pulling their souls to each other.

As a result of their conversation they merged her soul with her counterpart's soul in another world. As she sorted through her mind she found out her counterpart was named Bella Swan and she was going through a heart break. They did tell her to expect anomalies with the merge as she would have a full soul instead of half like most humans and last of all she was the first soul to ever live with her full soul.

The more she remembered of her counterpart's life the more incredulous she became. Her first thought was great she was an experiment. Were they serious? Surely there was some kind of mistake. If what she now knew was true then she had fallen into a world that she knew to be fiction where she came from. She could feel it, she had not just taken over her life, she was Bella Swan.

She felt as if she had lived two lives one as Sarah Montgomery and the other as Isabella Marie Swan. She hoped she would not slip up and then blurt out she was from another world. She was sure Charlie would have her committed for sure. Her head cleared for what felt like the first time in long time. Bella stood up from her chair and looked around.

Her room looked unlived in. It was eerie. She found the pain was actually manageable now as she moved around the room picking up a change of clothes and going to take a shower. She was going to need to pull herself together before facing Charlie. She felt guilty remembering his face as he watched his only daughter break and fall into despair.

She could now see it was killing him to see it. What was worse was she knew Bella would not have lasted through the night without the merge. Even now the pain she was feeling made her head reel. As Sarah she had never had her heart broken. Sure she had gone out with a few guys but that was it. She never fell in love with any of them. She was determined to do what she could to show him she would be okay.

The shower felt wonderful as the hot water cascaded down her body. She frowned when she saw how unfit her body was. As Sarah she practised kickboxing and was a black belt in karate until her illness. She was going to have to fix that despite her clumsiness as Bella. The next thing she needed to think about was what she going to do about her knowledge. Obviously things were going to be different now. Only half of her was in love with Edward Cullen, the other part of her had actually never met him. She knew her reaction when seeing him again was going to be different.

She looked up at the clock on the wall as she made her way downstairs. It was still early, seven o'clock. Charlie was already gone having left a note to say he was going fishing with Harry he would be home later in the day. It gave Bella time to get her bearings. She decided she might as well start getting her body back into shape. She had breakfast, tidied up the house and began stretching. She hoped it would help her cope and keep her mind from thinking about Edward.

When Charlie came home later that day Bella had dinner ready and was currently finishing her homework. She looked up from where she was sitting on the couch books around her and saw Charlie staring at her unsure how to react. So she spoke first "Hi dad. Did you have a good day?"

Charlie closed the distance between them and sat down opposite her and replied "It was alright. How was yours?"

She shrugged "I got my homework done and dinner as well. I made chicken."

The small exchange was strained but it was a start. Charlie was not the best conversationalist to begin with so she decided to call it a win. They had dinner and Charlie helped her wash up the dishes. He seemed to want to be closer to her to see if she was pretending and then return to her catatonic state. When they finished Bella said to Charlie "I won't lie and say I'm automatically okay dad because I'm not. But I'm trying to be, eventually I will be."

Her heart broke when she saw the relief on his face when she was eating. She could see a sheen of tears in his eyes and moved close to him before wrapping her arms around him. As she pulled away after her impromptu hug she said "I'll be fine dad. I promise."

Charlie nodded and let her go. She went upstairs making plans to go down to La push in the morning. It was time to go and see her friend Jacob. It occurred to her that this might have been when Bella went to the movies with Jessica. She decided to save herself that headache especially knowing the outcome of that excursion and she had a feeling that with what she knew of her old personality she would most likely not be able to tolerate Jessica for too long.

She knew Charlie was awake half the night because she could hear him moving outside her door occasionally and sometimes just opening the door to check on her. It broke her heart to realise just how much worry she caused him. She eventually fell asleep in the early hours of the morning.

Bella woke up at eight that morning. It was a Saturday she did not have school to go to. She remembered her resolve to go and see Jacob and felt her day brighten a little. She went through her morning stretching exercises and breakfast. Charlie's face lit up when she mentioned going to la push to see Jacob. It made her feel a little better knowing she made him smile.

xxxxxx

Bella was not sure what to expect when she arrived but the joy on Jacob's face when she stopped the truck made up for the tenseness she was feeling. She felt like she could breath properly for the first time in a while. As Jacob swung her round he asked "What brings you here Bella?"

She laughed and replied "You do Jake. I was hoping we could hang out."

She marvelled at how happy Jacob always seemed. It actually lifted her spirits and made her feel better like the thing that had been suffocating her was sudddenly thrown off like a blanket.

When Jake finally put her down she said "I feel better already just being here. I'm sorry i didnt ome before."

Jake positivley beamed at the statement and replied "You know you are always welcome here Bella."

She commented on how big he had grown. He was much taller than her now. She felt like a dwarf and teased him about it telling him he needed to share whatever he was eating because she seemed to have stopped getting taller.

The day passed pleasantly. She watched Jake as he worked on his car and they just talked. She had not felt this relaxed in a long time and was actually sad when she realised that it was nearing sunset. Charlie arrived to her surprise and they had dinner that Billy made. It turned into a small get together as more people from the reservation showed up. By the time Bella went home she knew she was strong enough to cope. She would be okay.

Days went by and Bella spent most of her time with Jake whether in his garage or at Charlie's house doing homework. Sometimes his friends Quill and Embry showed up to hang out and she found she quite enjoyed hanging out with them. She decided to stay away from the meadow. From what she could remember she would run into Laurent there and get him killed and then Charlie would risk his life going to search for the elusive wolves.

Speaking of Charlie she was cooking much healthier food for him now. This was triggered when she remembered that Harry was going to have a heart attack. Hopefully her dad was much healthier than Harry but it was better to be safe than sorry. She even made a deal with him to exercise with her every other day in exchange of her making more of an effort to get better.

He agreed so fast she thought she would get whiplash. So now four times a week she and Charlie did stretch exercises and went for a jog in the mornings. It actually brought them closer and improved their relationship. They were not so awkward around each other anymore. Bella slowly increased her stamina and started her martial arts movements building up slowly seeing as she had never done such workouts as Bella. Two months went by and she was making progress. During that time Bella took her savings and made her way to Port Angeles. Jake insisted on going with her for protection.

She bought herself a new wardrobe seeing as her counterpart barely had enough outfits to cover a single week. How she managed it she would never know. She included a wet suit remembering the cliff diving. She did not know if she was going to actually go through with it but just in case something pushed her to doing it she did not want to freeze to death.

It all came to a head when Jake seemed to be avoiding her. She had been expecting it from her knowledge of events but it still hurt. She could not help calling him hoping that he would at least speak to her but he wouldn't pick up the phone. She was home alone when it happened. Charlie had just left with Harry to go fishing when she called Jacob only to hear the lie about having mono. She grabbed her trainers and jumper and left the house to go jogging.

It always helped to clear her mind. She ran into the forest keeping to the familiar paths she and Charlie always took when they went running. She could feel her mind calming as she pushed herself to to move faster. Ever since she started up mere martial arts again she became less accident prone a bit more graceful. She did still fall occasionally but it was not as bad as it used to be.

She turned around to return to the house when she heard an almost familiar voice and turned to see the last vampire she wanted to meet. Laurent stood in front of her eyes blood red and a look of shock on his face. Bella cursed herself. She had gone further than she had been planning to go.

His voice was both new and familiar to Bella as he spoke "Bella."

She calmed herself and replied "Laurent."

He seemed genuinely surprised as he asked "What are you doing here? Alone?"

Bella replied "Just out jogging. Some of us have to actually exercise to keep fit Laurent. We don't all have the vampire ability to stay fit without it."

Laurent actually laughed at that and said "I can see why the Cullens kept you as their pet. You are very entertaining."

Bella felt insulted by that and felt a tingle inside her body. Laurent continued as if he did not notice the sudden change. "I went by the Cullens place. They seem to have left. I would have assumed they would have taken you with them. Were you not a favourite of theirs?"

She replied "Contrary to what you believe, I have my own life here. I was not their pet or whatever insulting names you have cooking in your head."

Bella had no idea why she was antagonising the vampire. She had already died once and was not afraid of it happening again. It gave her the balls to ask "What are you doing here Laurent?"

He regarded her for a moment. Her lack of fear making him hesitate. He could not even smell the fear most humans have for his kind. He had to ask "You do not seem afraid of me."

She snorted "Why would I be? If you even attempt to harm me you won't make it out of here alive. You will be ripped to pieces by the wolves. This is marked territory. I know for a fact they are already close they can scent vampires from miles away. The only reason they haven't attacked right now is because you haven't been hostile yet."

Bella was lying through her teeth, by then. Despite her lack of fear of death she still had self preservation instincts. "You are changing the subject Laurent. What are you doing here?"

"Laurent could see she spoke with conviction and his self preservation that he used to survive came to the fore. He needed to leave. So he said before disappearing "Victoria asked me to see if there was a way past the wolves to get to you. She wants to kill you."

Bella didn't look surprised instead she said "I am aware. She has been trying to get past the wolves for a while now. You might want to leave. They'll be here any second."

Laurent gave her a look before turning and running back where he came from. Bella turned and ran back where she came from. Her heart beating fast when, she was full of adrenaline and she seemed to be coming down from her high. She felt relief when she saw Charlie's house in view. She was nearly there. Well at least until she heard something large running behind her.

She looked behind her but didn't see anything. Her heart stuttered as she glimpsed a huge black something among the trees. She did not need to be told to know that was one of the wolves. If she had to guess she would say that was Sam Uley. She nearly laughed out loud, she had been right. It seemed the wolves tracked Laurent most likely found her scent and followed her home.

She stopped and double backed walking towards the huge beast that seemed to somehow blend into the trees she saw him about to move and spoke in a quiet normal voice. "Wait Sam."

The huge wolf froze staring at her and she continued "I just wanted to say thank you for looking out for me when you didn't have to its more than I can ever repay. The vampire you have been chasing her name is Victoria. She is after me. Edward killed her mate when he tried to kill me now she wants revenge. I don't know much about her except she has a knack for escaping sticky situations she finds herself in. I know i am probably not your most favourite person right now but I wanted you to know that you don't have to worry about me outing your secret, I won't. I have known for a while now and no Jake didn't tell me anything. I figured it out when I figured out the Cullen's secret."

She turned around to leave when she heard shifting sounds and suddenly Sam was was saying "Bella!"

Bella turned around to look at him and he continued "Come over to Emilys later I'm sure Jake wold like to see you."

Bella smiled and replied "I will thank you."

He disappeared after that and Bella turned around going home. She did not linger, she ran the rest of the way home and ignored the urge to lock the door, if a vampire wanted in there would be no stopping him. Now that her adreniline was slowing down she realised she could still feel the tingle in her body. She whirled around to find everything that was not nailed down floating in the air. Her eyes widened because she knew she was the one doing it. She breathed in calming her racing heart and everything settled back down again. Just in time because Charlie came out from his room looking like he had just changed his clothes. It was time to start dinner.

Charlie noticed her mood was different from the past couple of months and asked about it. Because of their now closer relationship she told him that Jake was avoiding her and she had no idea why. She told him not to worry they would sort things out themselves and even if they didn't it was okay because she had him. Charlie didn't push after that and they cleared up their dishes.

As soon as Bella was in her room she was able to start panicking. Funnily enough it was not herself she was afraid for but Charlie. How was she supposed to protect him? Sleep eluded her. Eventually she sat up and began to try and see if what happened earlier was a fluke. It wasn't. She watched as her desk lifted off the floor. It was surprisingly easy for her to control it. At least until the sparks left her fingers and she nearly set her table on fire.

She sat on her bed wondering what on earth was happening to her. She felt panic about to consume her. She knew she needed to hold herself together. Panicking would not help anyone. She grabbed her car keys and told Charlie she was going to La Push. He didn't stop her instead he smiled and told her good luck.

Now that there were no more secrets between them Bella and Jacob saw more of each other whoever Bella was off school and Jake was not running patrols. Bella found time to practice what she dubbed her new ability. She could move with her mind including heavy things and throw them aside with speed and precision that frightened even her sometimes. She could also generate lightning and fire with her hands. Her body temperature was also slightly higher than normal. It frightened her at first but when she began to gain control she found it could become quite useful especially when she began to incorporate it with her martial arts.

Bella received a phone call from Jake asking her if she wanted to go cliff diving seeing as he had some down time. Knowing how rare her time was with Jake these days because of Victoria she immediately agreed.

She found Jake waiting for her by the beach. She got out of the truck already in her wetsuit her hair up in a pony tail and raided, swimming cap in her hand. She smirked at Jacob who was staring with no remorse at her now fit body and said "Are we going to do this or not Jake?"

Jake looked like he was pulling his eyes back into their sockets when he answered "Yeah sure lets go."

Bella laughed as she ran toward the cliff edge not waiting for Jake and jumped off, it was exhilarating making her feel so free. She loved extreme sports in her former life and this definitely fit in with what she liked. As she got closer to the water she was thinking she definitely needed to try out skydiving. She went in head first then made to swim up knowing Jake would be jumping in after her when she saw Victoria in the water.

She sneered at the vampire and raised an arm, using her body as a lighting conductor to send a volley of lightning to the vampire but then Jake jumped into the water and she stopped realising she could fry him too. Victoria saw Jake and swam away. Jake pulled her up out of the water assuming she was not able to swim through the suddenly stronger and higher waves violently crashing on the shore.

Bella had a look of concentration on her face as she turned around to look at the water. Victoria was either long gone or hiding in the water. Jacob turned her face to look at him and said "You okay Bells?"

She blinked then said "Yeah I'm okay."

Jack was about to say something when he turned to look at the water but they were disturbed by Sam's arrival "Jake! The rest of us are going to help out at the Clearwater's Harry has had a attack."

Bella's eyes widened and she felt guilty for forgetting about him. "Is he okay?"

Sam shook his head "He died."

She knew Charlie would be devastated. Harry was his best friend. Jake brought her back to the present when he said "I'll take Bella home and then go patrol."

It was obviously what Sam had been hoping for because he nodded and said "Take care Bella. I'll see you."

Jake drove Bella's truck back to her house. She sat in the passenger's seat thinking about how the events seemed to happen the way she remembered despite the little changes she had made like how she was no longer brooding or too dependent on Jake for support. He seemed to understand that she just wanted to be his friend. She explained to him that if she were to date him it would be on the rebound and spelled for disaster. There was also the fact that he would eventually imprint on someone.

When he tried to protest she told him there was no way of controlling it and until he could figure out a way to study the way it worked and could be prevented then they would work on the premise that it would eventually happen. She finally got through to him when she told him she did not want to get hurt like that again and gave Emily, Sam and Leah as an example. Jake agreed reluctantly but he understood that she would most likely not survive another heartbreak if she took such a chance. Their relationship would always be fraught with the fear of his imprint on both their minds.

They arrived at Charlie's house that Bella was starting to see as home especially as she and Charlie's relationship was more father and daughter now. She got out of the car and walked into the house. Jake phased and took off into the woods behind her house. As she was turning on the lights she was wondering why she did not see Alice Cullen. Everything else seemed to happen based on her knowledge of the books she read, well sort of.

Shrugging she went to take a shower and then perhaps make a few dishes to take to the Clearwaters. There was plenty of food in the fridge courtesy of sometimes having Jake and a couple of his friends over Embry and Quil.

She was in the middle of cooking several stews, lasagnas, and a couple of deserts when she heard the car in the driveway. Assuming it was Charlie she continued to cook. However when she didn't hear him say something she turned around to meet Alice standing in her kitchen doorway. Alice gasped out "Bella! How are you alive? I saw you jump and you didn't come back up. Why would you do that? Did you not ink of what it would do to Charlie?"

Bella didn't move from her spot. She replied "I wasn't trying to kill myself Alice. A friend and I were cliff diving. He helped me get out of the water."

"Why didn't I see you get pulled out of the water? I ..."

She stopped when a loud snarl sounded from behind Behind Bella. Bella turned around to see Jake and knew if she didn't do something there was going to be a bloodbath right there in her dad's kitchen.

"Jake, this is Alice Cullen, Alice this is Jake. Please refrain from destroying my dad's kitchen I've spent hours cooking food to take to the funeral I wouldn't want that to go to waste."

Jake made to take Bella's hand as he said "I'm getting you out of here Bells. Away from the leech."

Alice snarled in return and said "I would never hurt her."

Bella stood between them and said looking at Alice "Alice why don't you go hunting for now and we can talk later." She looked at Jake and said "Jake help me finish making the food to take down later."

Jake was shaking but Bella's hand in his steadied him. She was impressed he had gained so much control considering it had not been that long since he phased. It had taken her months this to gain control of her own abilities. She was fairly confident if it came right down to it she could hold her own with either one but she did not want to test it. Alice nodded and left saying she would be back soon. Jake turned to Bella and said "Bella if the Cullens are back I can't protect you here. This is their territory."

"She faced him and said "I know Jake but I need to do this. I need closure. I can't move on with things hanging the way they are. I want my life back. Can you please try and understand where I'm coming from with this?"

Jake did not look too happy but he nodded. " I'm not leaving you alone with her."

"Let's take the food to the Clear waters first then we will see how things go okay?" Jacob and Bella gathered the food and placed it in Bella's truck.

Upon arrival Bella paid her condolences and found the food was well received seeing as she brought plenty of it. Charlie looked proud of her despite the grief in his eyes and later on they drove home together with Jacob in her truck. Jacob had already filled Sam in on the visit of Alice Cullen. He instructed Jacob to find out what she wanted and if they were coming back.

Meanwhile Bella told Charlie about Alice. He was not too happy about it but he agreed to let her stay for a bit. When they got back to the house Alice arrived only moments later. It was tense enough to feel tangent to Bella and for Charlie to notice. Deciding not to intervene he excused himself and went take a shower. Alice answered Jacob's questions when he asked telling him she was the only one present and she had no knowledge of their return as of yet. Jacob left after Bella assured him she would be fine.

Alice stayed the night and Bella tossed and turned trying to sort through her own feelings. She was angry that much was clear, well pissed off and Alice noticed. She also felt her feelings for Edward. She was not sure if she wanted to go through it all again. Once was enough. She was beginning to decide she would not take Edward back should he ask her.

There was also the fact that while she was still half a soul she was more than willing to be turned for Edward. The part of her that was Sarah cringed from the very thought. There was no way she wanted to be turned into a creature that lived on blood. She was a vegetarian for crying out loud.

She wondered if it would work or if she would turn into some kind of abomination because of the changes her body was going through. She pretended like she didn't notice but her skin was tougher, she was faster and much more graceful and agile in her movements. When she used her new abilities she was confident she could take on a vamp and hurt and pain from Alice ditching her considering they were meant to be best friends was what made her hold back from the usually perky vampire. Bella didn't know if it was within her to forgive them.


	2. Chapter 2

Fear gripped Bella when the next morning after Charlie left and Jacob arrived she heard the phone and Jacob answering it. She made to grab for the phone wanting to avoid having to go to Volterra but Jacob hung up after delivering his news that Charlie was at the funeral. Her stomach dropped when she saw Alice come from the other room a look if horror on her face as she explained that Edward had gone to the Volturi.

Bella knew there was no avoiding going now not unless she wanted Edward to die and by extension herself. The events that were to follow included a newborn army and she doubted the wolves would be equipped to fight them alone. Whatever happened she needed to get Edward from Volterra before he got himself killed.

She felt her heart break when Jake refused to understand why she needed to go and nothing she could say calmed him and he gave her an ultimatum. She knew she could not afford to change this. Too many lives depended on this. That was if they chose to come back. She just hoped that the vision Alice had of the original Bella becoming a vampire was still there or she was screwed.

She sat on the plane with Alice when she remembered Charlie. "Alice what am I going to tell Charlie? I just up and left."

"We'll think of something Bella. Don't worry. Right now I'm just concentrating on Edward. He keeps making plans and changing his mind."

Bella replied "Hopefully that will give us enough time to get there." Alice looked at Bella and said "I know you angry Bella..." Bella cut her off "Not now Alice. I'm not ready to remove the scabs just yet."

Alice didn't comment further. Bella fell asleep after a while. Bella had forgotten just how fast the Cullens drive until she got into a car with Alice and they were speeding down the highway. She kept her thoughts on what she needed to do when she arrived trusting Alice's quick reflexes to keep them from crashing at the high speeds they were going at.

As soon as they arrived Alice urged her to run. Bella had never been so grateful for taking up her training again until that moment. She had a moment of panic when she thought maybe Edward would notice the change in her but she squashed it.

She would deal with at later as well as her feelings for the vampire. She couldn't see him yet but she had a light bulb moment and hoped it would work as she activated the trigger in her powers only this time directing it on the clouds if she could control lightning maybe she could control storms too.

Lightning flashed across the sky and dark clouds gathered blocking out the sun then the rain started pissing down making her sigh in relief. People in the square began to move away to drier areas leaving the path in front of her easier to navigate. She had acted on pure desperation and arrived to find Edward just getting out of a set of doors confusion on his face as to where the sun went. She would have laughed at the look on his face if it was any other time. She ran smack into him unable to stop her momentum. Gasping his name "Edward! You need to stop." He seemed to be in a world of his own as he looked at her like she was a dream and breathed out "That was so quick I didn't even feel it."

Bella growled and said "Edward get back inside, you might be suicidal but I'm certainly not."

Edward seemed to come out of himself after a few seconds and wonder was replaced by shock when he heard Bella's breathing, heartbeat and he could smell her scent. He pulled them both back through the doors unable to say anything else except "Bella you're alive." Bella felt like she had been punched in the stomach at the look of complete and utter happiness on his face. She pulled out of his arms and said "Now that you have reassured yourself that I'm alive and well, I can go home. I still have to figure out what to tell Charlie when home about where I've been."

She went to open the doors when two vampires approached. One of them was really large Bella stared and said "Damn you are huge! Now I know where my height went."

The vampire narrowed his red eyes at her but felt no fear of him. He spoke looking at Edward "Aro wishes to see you and your guest." He had a sneer in his face when he said guest raising Bella's heckles.

Edward stood partially in front of her his other arm around her protectively and said to the men "Gentlemen your services are no longer required."

"Be that as it may you still have been summoned and are requested to come down."

Edward looked at Bella and said "Bella go enjoy the festivals I'll see you when I'm done."

The huge vampire replied "He has requested the presence of both of you."

Bella was still staring unable to believe the size of the behemoth in front of her. Before she could say anything that might have gotten herself and Edward killed Alice walked through the doors and said "Perhaps we could move to a more discreet area?"

She was right when they looked around there was a few people about most likely due to the storm. Bella listened as they talked before a young looking vampire who looked like she was still a teen arrived and said "Aro sent me to find out what is taking so long."

At the sight of the girl both Edward and Alice seemed to deflate. It occurred to her she was looking at Jane. The girl would have been pretty if it was not for the seemingly permanent sneer on her face. They began to follow the vampires to their lair. The walk felt like forever to her, it was probably not that long for vampires. Every vampire she passed had that similar beauty only marred by bruised eyes. Looking at their eyes she noted they were black. They had not yet fed. That was probably not a good thing for her seeing as she was apparently a tasty little morsel.

She did however take note of the architecture in the place. It was beautiful. Taking experience on art and architecture from her previous life she could quite easily tell it was dated during the time of Michael Angelo. She wondered if they had him paint for them. Maybe they turned him and he did it for them. If she got out of this alive she must ask about it.

They were brought to the throne room and Bella gasped making all eyes turn to her. She blushed when they looked at her inquisitively and said "Sorry, it's just the architecture in here is exquisite. It seems to blend in the walls and the brush strokes on some of the pieces look like the work of Michael Angelo. I did wonder if perhaps you got him to paint in here."

Aro laughed out loud and said "Ah Edward it seems Bella is alive after all and has great taste in architecture. Actually we hired him to do some of the work. He was very talented. Do you paint my dear?"

Bella replied "A little although I'm afraid I've neglected my art for a while now."

Bella could see Edward looking both confused and exasperated at her. She never seemed to be afraid of what she should be afraid of or react in any way he could predict. Who else would get into a conversation about art and architecture with an ancient vampire who wanted to kill you.

Aro was standing in front of both Bella and Edward by then. He reached out to Edward and asked very politely "May I Edward?"

Reluctantly Edward held out his hand allowing Aro to see his thoughts. His eyes widened, he swalowed, licked his lips he said "How do you stand to be so close to her? Her blood appeals to you so much?"

Edward stiffened but managed to spit out "It is not without difficulty." when he was satisfied he turned to Bella and asked "May I Bella?"

She felt Edward and Alice tense next to her but looked at Aro as she held out a hand and said "All that my hand is going to tell you is that I need a manicure."

Aro chuckled, he seemed to genuinely like her. He took her hand and waited but nothing happened. He frowned a bit before trying again and saying "Just as Edward cannot see her thoughts neither can I. It seems you were right Bella. All it does tell me is you need a manicure. Aro moved back to his throne before turning to Jane and saying "I wonder is she immune to all of our gifts?"

Knowing what Edward was going to do she placed an arm on his hand and said "Edward don't."

He didn't listen and stood in front of her using his own body to block Jane's power from reaching her. He fell to the floor writhing in agony. No matter how angry she was with Edward she did not wish to see him in pain.

Bella reached down and grabbed Edward's hand unconsciously using her shield and stopped the the pain before reflecting it back to its castor who began to scream in pain. The whole room went quiet at that. Even the vampire kings were shocked at the display of power. The screaming only lasted for a several seconds and Bella noticed looks of satisfaction on some of the guard's faces. Most likely because she had used her power on them. Jane looked shocked and terrified of having her own power used against her. She looked wary of trying it out on Bella again. Even her brother who was standing next her did not seem inclined to try.

The huge behemoth she had come to realise was Felix had the most satisfied look on his face. Bella knew then he must have hated Jane. She helped Edward up and Aro said "Well Bella aren't you full of surprises? Can you do anything else? It seems even Edward here didn't know you could do that and from the look of shock neither did your little seer."

Bella replied truthfully "I didn't either. I just wanted her to stop."

"I believe you will make an intriguing vampire Bella. You may leave on one condition. You have six months to put your affairs on order and be turned. We will visit soon."

His brother Caius spoke for the first time "leave now and make sure you do as you have been told. The Volturi do not give second chances."

Marcus had a bored look on his face as he said "Thank you for your visit."

Edward dragged Bella out of the room before she could do any more than say goodbye. They did not need to linger due to the rain outside which Bella was starting to get worried about. Shouldn't it have stopped by now? It was still pouring down as much as when it started.

As soon as they got in the plane she tried to will it away but all she managed to do was bring it down to a drizzle. Deciding to leave it she turned to face a shamefaced Edward. She allowed him to hold her because it was what she wanted too although she knew she was playing with fire. It would be much harder to let go later. She fell asleep exhausted not having rested properly for nearly forty eight hours. She refused to allow herself to believe that she was avoiding the confrontation with Edward.

She woke up when she felt herself change hands, from the cold arms that had been holding her to the warmer ones she vaguely recognised as her father's. she curled up in his arms knowing she had worried him sick for the past couple of days but was too tired to say anything in that moment. She heard Charlie's furious voice as he banned Edward from ever darkening his doorstep again. She would talk to him later about it.

Bella woke up hours later to the sight of Edward sitting on the bed next to her. She still didn't know what to say to him. She got out of bed grabbed her shower things went to get cleaned up. When she came back he was still there and she sat on the bed with him. He was the first to break the silence. "I'm sorry."

Feeling her hackles rise up she replied "Oh well, that makes everything hanky dory doesn't it?" She saw him flinch and refused to feel bad. If she kept her anger bottled in and pretended nothing was wrong everything would fall apart. "Don't, you don't get to feel bad this Edward. Why on earth did you even go to the Volturi anyway?"

"I thought you were dead." Edward spoke in a low voice "I thought you dead and I wanted to die too. I couldn't live in a world where you weren't alive. I know what I said to you when I left Bella. I was trying to protect you. Keep you safe. Please give me a chance to prove to you what you mean to me."

"So what if I was dead. You made it very clear you didn't want me. You left." Bella calmed herself and shook her head "I need time Edward. I can't do this. I feel like I'm drowning in my own emotions. Right now all I feel is the terror of going through all that pain again. I won't survive a second time Edward, the next time you decide to break up with me for my own good. Trying to get over you was the most painful and difficult thing I have ever had to go through and failed spectacularly at. For months I didn't even know what was going on around me or whether I was coming or going. When I gained some semblance of reality I saw what it was doing to my parents. The pain in Charlie's eyes pulled me out enough to at least function. I'm sorry Edward."

She knew if he could cry he would be. Her heart twisted at the sight of the pain on his face and she wanted to so badly change her mind. She almost did but decided against it. She watched as he left through her window and walked over to it shutting it and the curtains. Suddenly she needed to see Jacob. She went downstairs to see Charlie.

Charlie didn't look up from his paper and occasionally sipping his coffee. She knew he knew she was there. Taking a deep breathe she sat opposite him. Eventually he put his paper down and said "You know you are grounded right Bells?"

Bella nodded and he continued "The grounding is until further notice I'm not putting a limit on it."

"I'm sorry dad. I know it does not make up for what I did but I really am. I would not have done it if it wasn't an emergency. Can I at least call Jake to let him know I'm okay?"

Charlie regarded her for a minute before saying "Fine but don't stay too long on the phone."

She nodded and went to call Jacob. She didn't get to speak to him but she did speak to Billy and told him that she just wanted to let Jake know she was home safe and sound.

Being back at school felt strange for Bella. A lot had happened and she knew she was definitely not the same person who arrived at that school a whole year back. If felt so surreal that it had only been a year and so many things had happened. She froze when she first arrived to find the Cullens were there too.

Edward looked like he was not even trying. She noticed Alice straightening his clothes and hair. His eyes were black showing he had not fed in a while. She noticed Rosalie looking at her although the look did not have the malice she remembered.

Her curiosity of why was answered when she was leaving one of her classes to go to the cafeteria and she was accosted in the corridor by Rosalie. The fear she would have felt before was not there and she could see the grudging respect Rosalie had for her.

Rosalie pulled her to the side and said "I wanted to apologise Bella, for my behaviour toward you before. I was trying to protect my family, I thought you were just mesmerised by Edward like most people normally are with us. I also want to apologise for being the cause for Edward thinking you dead. I also wanted to thank you for being brave enough to face the Volturi to save my brother. I see now that Edward loves you and I will not be standing on your way this time."

Bella was surprised, she realised this was Rosalie's way of giving her blessing. She smiled and replied "There is no apology needed Rosalie. Wanting to protect your family is not a crime and I don't blame you for what happened. Edward chose to go to the Volturi. You didn't send him there you don't have to feel guilty about it. As for Edward and I well right now I just really need some space."

She left Rosalie standing there and made her way to sit with Angela for lunch. She tuned out the gossip around her about why she was not sitting with the Cullens. It did not help that Edward was staring at her and not bothering to hide it. She could see the hurt look in Alice's face and she realised she never really told her she was not exactly happy with her either for disappearing on her. Especially as they left her with the problem of a red head vampire trying to kill her.

Days turned into weeks and graduation was getting nearer. Charlie finally relented and allowed Bella to go and visit her friends. He noticed she was not hanging out with the Cullens and felt relieved. They even resumed their stretches and jogging. During that time he noticed the changes in his daughter.

She was more lithe and stronger than she looked especially when she helped him up after he slipped while they were jogging. He saw her sometimes in the backyard practising martial arts. He had not known she could that. When he asked her she told him she was learning it as a way to keep her mind focused and not on Edward. He encouraged to keep it up upon hearing that.

It was just over a month later when some art supplies arrived through mail in a huge box for Bella. Her heart pounded at the sight and knew right away who it was from. The neat calligraphy on the note accompanying the box read

Dearest Bella

I hope this letter find you well. I quite enjoyed our little chat when you were in Volterra it occurred to me that you said you had not practised your in some time. I have sent some supplies for you to enjoy perhaps you can show me the results when I visit you. Please give my regards to Edward and his talented family.

Kind regards

Aro

She stood there staring at the box like it would bite her. This was the Volturi's reminder that they wanted her to be turned. How could she have forgotten that? Aro must really want something from her, their little conversation was not that intriguing or intriguing in any way. It would have only served to mildly amuse him if at all. Especially as he must have a lot more intelligent conversations with people a hundred times more intelligent than she was.

She eventually unfroze and opened the box. Despite not being the expert on art supplies what she was looking at must have cost a fortune. The gold plated paintbrushes, canvases with expensive looking wood frames and other things she could not recognise. Her art was good but she didn't think it warranted such expensive stuff. She was not that good."

Despite her misgivings Bella actually sat down and wrote a reply to Aro to thank him for the gift. The letter writting actually became frequent with both of them talking about arcgitecture, painting, poetry, classical music and other things that sprungfrom their conversations. Bella found herself being the recipient of knowledge of times that were long past.

As she held the latest letter in her hand she wondered at her new friendship with Aro. Of all vampires to befriend she chose one of the leaders of the Volturi.

Eventually Bella confided in Aro that she and Edward did not get back together. She half expected a furious reply regarding her turning so was completley shocked when he expressed he was glad about it and Edward did not deserve her.

She must have written something that triggered Aro's ire because instead of a letter she was looking at an email from Aro demanding the details of the vampire after her. How he got her email address was beyond her. If she was honest she had not thought he knew what a computer was let alone an email. She supposed that was naive of her considering who she was talking about. They had previously avoided talking about their personal lives but that was slowly changing. It was something that scared her.

she replied to the address he sent her

 _She is a vampire whose mate tried to kill me last year and was killed while Edward was protecting me from him. She wants revenge for her loss._

He replied :

 _You should have told me this sooner. I know about the killings in Seattle. They are a sign of someone creating newborns. They are risking exposure to our world by not teaching them the law to keep a low profile. Felix and Demitri will be coming to Forks to protect you from her. I will have some of the guard go to Seattle with Jane to deal with the newborns. Do not worry about your wolves they will not be harmed, especially as they have done a good job of protecting you. I cannot have my new penpal endangered now can I? Please give them a message from me..._

Bella was in shock over the email. She had changed a major plot and had somehow endeared herself to Aro. Her eyes widened when she realised he knew about the wolves. This was not supposed to happen. She tried to feel the horror she was meant to feel but all she felt was warmth and could not help the smile on her face. He cared whether she got hurt or not.

In her reply she admitted she was worried that Victoria would eventually get to her. Her luck could not hold out forever. She did request from him that when they did come if they could avoid feeding in Forks. It was her home, she suggested blood bags from blood donations in hospitals while they were in Forks so they would not need to feed on her family and friends. She then asked about how he knew about the wolves.

It actually occured to her that she was agreeing to his offer of protection. She was worried now about what he would ask in return. She quickly wrote a message after the one she had just sent depicting her worry about that. relief flooded her when Aro told her he would not make her do something she did not wish. He just wanted her as a friend. She knew it was naive to believe him but she could not help but do so. Besides if she refused now she could cause new complications and the last thing she wanted was to have the Volturi against her and possibly get Charlie killed.

As she watched the screen send back Aro's reply she wondered what she should tell the resident vampires and wolves. She decided on the truth. She would tell the wolves first and then she was sure Aice would get a vision of some sort when she decided when to tell them.

Aro had no qualms about what she wanted to tell them. he actually said it would save him the trouble.

After saying goodbye to Aro she left to go to the reservation. She needed to talk to Sam and Jacob. Hopefuly they would not flip out on her.

xxxxxxx

She sat with Sam and Jacob feeling apprehensive but on the outside she looked calm. "I asked to see you because there has been a new development with the vampires and I thought you might want to know."

She could see the worry in their faces but continued. "You know how I had to go to Italy a few months ago to save Edward."

When they both nodded she continued "Well one of the leaders took a liking to me for some reason and somehow during that time I mentioned liking art and he sent me a gift when I got back. I was afraid of sending it back in case I offended him and he ended up coming here so I sent him a thank you note instead. He wrote back and we ended up writting to each other talking about architecture. He found out about the killings in Seattle and demanded an explanation as to what was going on. I told him about about Victoria. He is sending two of his guard to protect me from her and some of his guard to deal with the newborn vampires being created in Seattle. He also asked me to give the wolves a message. He said thank you for saving my life and keeping me safe. He will make sure that vampires will stay clear of your territory. None of his guard will hunt anywhere near Forks they will be living off blood from blood banks."

The shock on Jacob and Sam's faces would have been funny if Bella was not afraid for her health in that moment. "He knows about the quliette wolves from Edward's memories. Aro has a gift where he can read a person's entire life, every thought they have ever had, everything they have ever gone through there is no hiding anything from him when he looks. He was intrigued when he found out Edward could not read my mind and tried to read my life and couldn't. He tried the gift of another of his guards and came up with nothing there too. I know what you are going to say. I was reckless but honestly I didn't see any other way out of this. it was just safer to go with it. This way you guys do not need to defend against newborns created to get to me."

Bella finally admitted the guilt she had been feeling. It was what finally got through to Jacob and surprisingly Sam. They looked at each other for a second and then said to her "Bella, there is no need to blame yourself for something that was out of your control. You should have come to us sooner with this."

She had tears in her eyes as she said "What would you have been able to do Sam, Jacob? The Volturi have gifts that will render anyone no matter who you are incapable of fighting back. One of them Alec, he can cut off your senses making you feel see, hear absolutley nothing. He can do that to a whole group of people making you easy targets. If anyone escapes they have another vamipre who can track anyone anywhere. There is no place to run, no crevice you an hide if they after you. That is just a couple of the ones that I know. There are so many of them and Aro only takes those with gifts or are extrodinary in some way. They have been fighing for centuries all of them. There have no parallels. If they target you it is a death sentence guaranteed."

Now the two men had looks of horror on their faces but it was Jacob who said "He wants you doesn't he? He wants you to join him that is what he wants in return isn't it? What does Edward say about this?"

She realised this was the first time she had seen or spoken to Jacob or the wolves since comng back from Italy. Charlie had refused her any contact with anyone.

"I don't think he knows but I'm sure Alice will get a vision soon when I decide to tell them. I don't hang around them much only in class when I have to or if we have a class project seeing as Edward is my lab partner in biology."

Jacob looked shocked even Sam chuckled and placed a finger under his chin to close his mouth. "Wait! Are you telling me that you are not still seeing Cullen?"

Bella shook her head "We never got back together. I couldn't handle it. I would have been in touch but Charlie has been too angry with me for leaving when I did to go to Italy without a word. He has not allowed me much room I was actually surprised when he allowed me to come here to day."

Jacob began to decidedly look guilty making Bella frown and ask "Jake, what did you do?"

Sam was the one who answered when Jacob did not seem to be able to say anything "Jacob though it was Edward keeping you from him, well us the wolves. He wen to Charlie and told him about your escapades in the woods when there was still the scare with the bears. He also told him about you cliff diving."

Bella looked at Jacob a feeling of betrayal going through her. Jacob stuuttered out "I'm sorry Bella. I know I should not have checked first. I was so worried about you being around him again I figured Charlie grounding you would keep you away from them and safe. I 'm so sorry Bella."

Bella got up and said "Its nice to know I can trust you with my secrets Jake. Never mind that I kept yours. How could you betray me like that?"

She didn't wait for him to answer instead she looked at Sam and said "I will send you any more details I can. See you guys around."

Bella left for her truck Jacob trailing behind her trying to stop her. She was hurt and angry. She ignored him and drove off.

Things with Charlie were easier now Bella realised that if they did not have their jogging sessions which they still did together things might have been worse than they were. They managed to talk and Bella was able to reassure him she would not do such a thing again and was given her freedom as long as she used it to go and socialise with her friends.

xxxxx

Bella was waiting by her truck after school to speak to the Cullens. When they came out she approached them and said "Can we talk?"

Alice nodded and said "Come to our house."

Bella nodded "Okay."

She got into ther truck and drove behind Edward's car. He was driving slowly so she would not be left behind. As they arrived Bella found Edward already out of his car opening her door for her. She hoped he was not thinking she wanted to get back together because that was the last thing she wanted. She did feel guilty at how rough he looked. At least it looked like he was feeding.

Bella greeted everyone and Esme even hugged her and led her to the couch where everyone settled. Alice spoke up "Charlie finally let you out?"

"Yeah he did yesterday. Umm but thats not what I wanted to talk to you guys about. I just wanted to give you a heads up that the Volturi will be coming to Forks. Aro has kept in touch with me via mail for the past several months."

Bella noticed the now still postures of the vampires around her but she continued "Until recently we talked about architecture, poertry and other things that seemed inconsequential. He found out about the killings in Seattle and must have investigated because he asked me what was going on. When I told him he said he was sending Felix and Demitri to protect me. Jane and some of the guard to deal with the newborns in Seattle. I was shocked at his sudden offer of protection because we never discussed any personal matters. I assumed he was writting me to keep reminding me of the order for me to be turned. I also know I cannot bury my head in the sand about it anymore but as much as I wanted to before I don't now. I only wanted to be turned to be with Edward but with what has happened its not as appealing as it was then."

Bella was surprised when Rosalie moved from her spot and hugged her before saying "You don't have to give up your humanity Bella. Not for anyone."

Edward just turned around and left reading between the lines of Bella's words. She was in a roundabout way telling him that any hope he had of them getting back together was gone.

Carlisle spoke up "This is not going to be easy to get out of Bella. I honestly do not know any around this. If you are not turned the Volturi will come for my son. however things are even more complicated now with Aro taking such an interest in you. It may be that Aro will turn you himself. Does he know that you and Edward are no longer seeing each other?"

Bella shook her head "Yes he knows I figured it would be best if he heard from me on my own terms rather than somewhere else and then come to some conclusion that could end with all our deaths." She stopped for a second before dropping the final bomb.

"He has also extended the deadline. I told him I wanted to finish school and go to college. He agreed saying it was a rite of passage."

Bella got up deciding to let it all sink in and said "Look I'll keep you posted about what is happening and after graduation we should hopefully have a solution."

Bella left without saying anything else and went home. She heard things smashing from another part of the house. Not wanting to deal with the drama she gto into her truck and drove home.

There was an email from Aro when she arrived.

Dearest Bella

Demitri and Felix will be bringing your graduation present a little early.


End file.
